Ads Ads Ads !!!

So......

What's an Advertisement ?

It's a notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service, or event or publicizing a job vacancy.

So, basically, Advertising is PROMOTING a product, service or event. So, my question here is "How DO you effectively promote a product?"

1. Is it by Listing the Qualities of the Product?
2. Is it by Showing that the Product is Better than it's Rivals'?

Ideally, Yes, that's how one can effectively promote / advertise a product. If I was to ask a random person, who doesn't have a clue how the advertising works, he would probably tell me the above mentioned ideas.

But that's not how Ads work. It isn't that simple. To support my argument, I would like to present an example. How many of you have seen the movie, "The Guilt Trip"? In the movie, Seth Rogen's character is trying to promote a genuinely good product that he has invented. Every retail store dismisses his idea even though his product is better than any other's in the market. Finally, he pitches his idea to a shopping network in which he DRINKS his cleaning product to show that's it's organic and safe for children and his Ad gets selected.

Now, what is the moral of the story?

No matter how many qualities a product has or how much better the product is than any other in the market, It won't sell unless it is promoted / advertised properly.

So, what makes a good Ad?

1. The Ad should be a connect to IT'S Audience :
   
   
   So, when I say "Audience", I mean the Demographic the product is aiming at. Different products aim toward different audiences. For example, a cooking oil product such as "Saffola", "Fortune", "Sundrop" or "Dhara" aims at the Demographic 35-70 (approx). Such a product would like to influence middle aged people and the senior citizens.
   
   For another instance, Airtel aims at the youth of India, whereas Idea aims at a bigger demographic, implying that Idea is for everyone.
   
   Ads are created around a concept or an idea. For Airtel, that idea is that "Airtel is for the new and modern India." Airtel Ads that support my  argument :
   
   
• An Ad with a youth (age 16-23) using his cell phone to solve his parent's problems using the services provided by the network.
• A love marriage theme Ad.
• An Ad that shows that women can also work and take care of her home at the same time. (BTW I find this Ad TOTALLY SEXIST.)


As for Idea, I think that the concept behind all it's Ads is that "Idea is for the common people. It empowers people by making them aware with the help of idea's internet service." They've been making Ads that support this idea of theirs for a long time now. I don't think I need to give any examples of such Ads.


2. The Ad should be Memorable and should be easily Recalled :
   
   
   First off, why is it necessary for the Ad to be memorable? Let's answer this question. It is an unrealistic expectation for a company to expect that the consumers will start buying their product just as the Ad begins to air. So, they want the consumers to remember their products Ad in some way or the other.
   
   For instance, Zandu Bam launched a new product "Zandu Bam Ultra Power". The company doesn't expect it's customers to get off their couches, run off to their nearest stores and buy their new product just after watching their Ads. It's unrealistic. It is unrealistic because it's a common house hold product. And it's not something new; At least that's what I think. But, there can be exceptions. Think of Coca-Cola's "Coke Zero". The product is new to India. Even in the Ads they make it clear that the taste is the same, only no sugar is there. So, to a common teenager who's not diabetic, Coke-Zero is no better than the original. Still, I bet that a number of teenagers must've tried this new Coca-Cola the day after the Ad aired first time on TV.
   
   
   Now, there are a lot of ways of making the audience remember an Ad. Let's go through them one by one :

   
   

   • Coming up with Catchy Jingles :
     
     There are so many Ads whose jingles I remember that I literally would lose count. So I won't even try. You know what!? I am going to list down a few.
     
     
     • Washing Powder Nirma
     • Action ka School Time
     • Classic Tooth Brush based on Ina Mina Dika
     • Liril's - "La; La La La La; La La La La Laaaa......"
     • Pan Parag Pan Masala
     • Doodh Doodh Doodh Doodh
     • Sonali Bendre's Nirma Soap
     • Sonali Bendre's Neema Sandal Girl
     • Vics ki Goli lo Khich Khich Door Karo
     • Vico Vajradanti, Powder, Paste
     • Chubhti Jalti Garmi ka Mausam Aya
     • Utterly Butterly Delicious
     • B-Tex's Khujli Kerne Wale based on Tirchhi Topi Wale
     • Essel World mein Rahunga Main Ghar Nahi Nahi Nahi Jaunge Main
       
       Bas....... Ab aur nahi. But the list is endless.............
       
   • Creating a Mascot for the Product :
     
     Many of you would remember a product only because of it's Mascot that you saw in it's Ad. I can bet that you'd know each of these Mascots :
     
     
     • Pillsbury Doughboy 
     • ZooZoo
     • Amul Girl
     • Hutch Pug
     • Onida Devil
     • Lijjat Padad's Bunny
     • Eveready's Black Cat
     • Sunfeast Sun
     • Parle G's Kid
     • Nirma Girl
       
       Again, the list goes on forever........
       
   • This next point is kinda Luck. Create a Memorable Ad :
     
     Some Ads may be so funny, emotional or I don't know what that you never forget the Ad. Some Ads just stay in your head for some reason I'm positive you won't be able to explain. Some of such Ads :
     
     
     • Tell me which Ad do you think of when you hear the word "JALEBI?" You'll get the same answer when you Google the phrase "Jalebi Ad." Can you explain why you remember that particular Ad, Dhara Cooking Oil Ad? Maybe because of that cute kid; Maybe because of the cute way he says "jalebi." I sure can't explain why I remember it.
     • Which Ad do you think of when you imagine a kid in yellow pyjamas doing gymnastics surrounded by Giant Puris. Why the hell do you remember that Sundrop Oil Ad?? If you can, please tell me.
     • That Fevikwik Fishing Ad. Well, this one's a freebie; Cause it's funny as hell!
       
       There's a lot more but I can't think of any at the moment. So this is mostly luck I think. I may be wrong but I can't see a common factor between all these Ads that makes them so memorable.
     
     

Let's review some of the recent Ad campaigns.

1. Cold Drinks :
• Pepsi has always attached itself to Celebs, from cricket to movie stars. You can summarize all it's Ads implying "These Celebrities drink Pepsi. So should you." FYI, Pepsi had also tried to focusing on the younger demographics when it went for the "Youngistaan" campaign.
• Coca-Cola for now is aiming at a bigger demographic than just the youth. It's trying to bring in the "Family Values" and "Festive" factors in all it's Ads.
• Thums Up has always been about action. Their Ad campaign always shows some celebrity being macho and showing off some over the top action. That's why it has Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan in it's Ads.
  
2. Mobile Network :
• Airtel is focusing on the youth and the "Modern India".
• Idea is focusing on the concept of "awareness to everyone". It is aiming at the common man of India. The Ad makes you think "What a nice Mobile Network company! Trying to promote women empowerment, literacy, awareness and whatnot through their Ads." But at the end of the day they're just trying to sell their product to you.
• Vodafone has spent I-don't-know-how-many dollars on their "medieval village" campaign. And before that there were the ZooZoo Ads. They make their Ads so interesting that you simply can't ignore them.
  
3. Deo / Perfume : All deo / perfume Ads are filled with sexual stuff. That's their selling point. Special mention to Mazza and Katrina Kaif, who deserve to be mentioned whenever the word "sexual" comes up.
   
4. Shampoo / Conditioner / Soap / Cream : All Ads in this category feature one or more Bollywood actresses and / or a number of Extremely fair Asian girls.
   
5. Toothpaste / Toothbrush : These Ads feature a number of doctors, some of them fake, who say the same thing over and over again - "I recommend this ****."
   
   

Some, or should I say most, of the Ads that we see have nothing to do with the product. Rather they use a celebrity to sell their product. These Ads lack content. Such companies know where their product stands in the market and hence they have nothing to show.

These are some of my observations. I don't know if Ads do  really work this way but that's how I see them. Your comments are welcome.